US1438321A - Bending machine - Google Patents

Description

J. B. MELTZ.

BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28, 1920.

5 SHEETSSHET 2.

Patented Dc. I2, 1922.

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Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

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BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28. 1920.

1,438,321. I Patented Dec. 12,1922.

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Paten J. B. MELTZ.

BENDI AGHINE.

APPLICATION 02c. 2.8. 1920.

Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

UNITED STATES JULIUS B. MELTZ, OF EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO A. L. SMITH IRON WORKS, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

BENDING MACHINE.

Application filed December 28, 1920. Serial No. 433,628.

To all whom. it may concern Be it known that 1', JULIUs "B. Mnn'rz, citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Everett, in the county of MiddleseX and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines or devices for bending flat bars or strips of sheet material. More particularly the present invention relates to mechanism for use in the making of hangers such as are commonly employed for supporting floor or roof timbers in masonry building construction. Such hangers usually comprise a stirrup of flat bar or strap metal bent to form a bot tom member and two spaced, upwardly extending side members which are substantially parallel one to the other at points adj acent said bottom. The side members substantiall midway of their lengths, are twisted in opposite directions whereby to cause their outer ends to lie in planes at right angles to their lower portions, and at the outer ends of said side members the. metal is bent to form supporting hooks. The making of hangers of the type just referred to has. so far as is known, been performed heretofore as a hand operation, and as so carried out by hand is slow, laborious, and inaccurate.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a power driven mechanism capable of operating in an expeditious and accurate manner for producing the bends in the strip or bar of sheet metal necessary for the formation of a hanger, and without requiring the application of heat to the bar. As one mode of attaining the desired object the machine may be provided with a work support having a flat upper surface terminating in a straight edge. Spaced from such surface, may be an anvil. block having a face making such. an angle with the supporting surface asit is desired that the two parts of the strip of metal assume relatively one to the other and for forcing the strip to conform. to the surface of said block, a member rockable about said straight edge of the work support as an axis, may be employed.

For actuating such member, power operated connections may be employed, preferably comprising a one revolution clutch.

As it is desirable that the machine be capable, not only of operating upon sheet or bar material of different thicknesses, but also that it may be able to bend the metal to difi erent angles, the machine may be provided with suitable adjustments for obtaining such desired results. As one method of permitting the machine to operate on metal of different thicknesses, the block against which the metal is bent may be arranged for adjustment toward and from the surface of the WO1( support and if desired. for simultaneous adjustment toward and from the edge of the work support. For permitting the machine to bend the material to different angles, the anvil block against which the work is pressed or formed, may be made interchangeable so that blocks having faces at different angles may be substituted one for another. Furthermore the mechanism whereby the movable forming member is actuated may comprise connections such, for example as an adjustable cranlcpin whereby the degree of movement of such movable forming member may be varied. I

A preferred form of mechanism for carrying into effect the above objects is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, is a plan view of the" device.

Figure 2 an end elevation, partly broken away, of the right hand end of the machine as seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line A-B of Figure 2;

Figure 4: is a transverse vertical cross section substantially on [he line C-D of Figure 1;

Figure 5 transverse vertical section on the line E-F of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a detail elevation of an adjustable crank pin and associated parts which is e inployed in the driving connections;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary detail elevation of a slotted crank arm shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a side elevation and Figure 9 an end elevation partly in section of a clutch employed in the machine;

employed in he making Ned.

ure 12. This banner is formed by bending; and twlstln a stri 3 or of metal 0 the desired width and thickness.

or supporting portion 0; of

fined b the upwardl eaten in b rials;

"1' a I legs 6, c. The legs Z), c are oppositely tn as at e, frespectively so that their upper portions 9, 1 he 111 planes at r1 "-n les to the lower parts thereof, Th 70, Z, of the legs are a 17 at at m, n, whereby to fol ment with the masonry c an, The hanger thus cons ructed .t a port the end of a tiinie" rcstin on member 0, and positioned oy the l c. The machine of the present invention .is intended for making bends at m, it and 0.

Referring; to the drawings for a niiorc dc tailed description of the mechanism, 1. is the frame of the machine, cou'iprisi, a hollow casting having legs 2 at its wrneis provided with openings 3 by mean of which it may be bolted to the floor. it ithin the fraaiiic and projecting from the rear side thereof, are a series of bearing brackets 5, '6 and at the left hand end of the frame is a boss 7 Journaled within suitable openings in the bearing blocks carried by said. biv a and in said boss respectively, is SllELlu 5 having thereon pair of driven pulleys 9, 10, of different diameters, such pulleys proecting through suitable openingzgs 1i, respectively in the fran'ie. The iiullsys 9, 1.0 are adapted for engraa ment by a driving belt receiving pow from any suitable source. By the pro ion. of pulleys oil difit .13 Jssi ferentdlameter it is ac b I l shifting the belt from one to the other, to change the speed of the shaft 8. i o. upon the left hand portion of the sha'l't 0, between bracket 4 and boss a pinion 1 :1.

PlOjQClilIlil: from the front wall of the casing and on the interior thereof are bracl zets 14:, 15 supporting beari blocks pro With journal openings wiich ali journal opening in a boss 16 on the le.- t hand end wall of the casin x Journaled to turn in the bearings carried by bracket 15 and boss 16 is a shaft 17 having thereon a gear 13 meshing with gear 13, such shaft having secured adjacent its right hand extremity, the driven element 18 of a clutch device here inafterdescribed in detail. The bearing carried by bracket 14 is cf substantial length and has journaled therein the driven shaft 19, such shaft having mounted thereon adjacent its left hand extremity the driven clutch element 20.

At 21 is a brake band of any suitable construction which engages the driven shaft or an element thereof, whereby to prevent overthrow of such shaft when the clutch is released.

To the right hand extremity of the shaft 19, as clearly indicated in Figures 6 and 7, is secured a crank arm 22. The crank arm 29 may be fixed in position by means of a pair of keys 23 or in any other suitable manner.

The crank arm is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 2-; which extends to a point adjacent the free end of such crank arm. 25 is a crank pin having afixed collar or shoulder 26, such crank-pinestending tl'irough the slot in the crank arm and being; screw tl'iroaded at one extremity as indicated at 9/7. 28 (see Figure 1) is a yoke having a central opening; through which passes the crank pin 25, the yoke being interposed between the collar 26 and arm The opposite ends of the yoke member are bent at right angles, as indicated at 29, 50 to embrace the opposite edges of the crank arm v V i That side of the crank arm opposite that such knurlinp; being produced on each side of the slot 24%. 32 is a flat plate having a circular opening for the passage of the crank pin 25 and having; its opposite ends engageable with the knurled portions of the crankarin. 33 is a nut which engages the threaded portion of the crank-pin 25 and by means of which the plate 32, yoke 28, and the crank-pin may be firmly locked in an adjusted. position on the crank arm 22. Journaled to turn upon the outer end of the crank-phi 25 is a knuckle r. t which is secured thereon by means of a washer 35 and a nut 86 engaging; the threaded einity of the crank-pin. l

Secured in a threaded openin s: in the knuckle is a screw threaded pin formed integral with or fixed to the lower end of a. connectii'ig rod 38, such rod extend ing upwz u'dly through a suit his opening 39 in the upper surface of the mach" "1Q frame.

lllounted upon the upper suriaii'e of the machine frame abracket device 4:0 which may be secured to the main frame of the machine by means of bolts 4-1, or in any other desired manner. fact such bracket if desired may form an integral part of machine frame. [is indicated in Figure {l the bracket i0 has mounted there-an or integral therewith a member 4L2 whose upper surface 43 is substantially flat and horizontal and thus forms a work support or table whereupon material to be bent may be placed. The rear portion of such member 42 is, as indicated in Figure 4 beveled oil at 44 whereby to provide a sharp rear edge at 45. The edge 45 is arranged to extend in substantially a straight line transversely of the work 1 oke member havin" spaced arms 54. y

which lie upon opposite sides of the lever arm 49. The pin 51 passes through suitable openings in the arms 53 and. 54 and is held against disengagement therefrom by means of cotter pins 55.

The yoke member 52 is provided at its lower extremity with an internally screw threaded bore with. which engages a screw threaded extension 56 projecting upwardly from the connecting rod 38. The connectingrod. by reason of its screw threaded extensions 37 and 56, is variable in length, thus permitting the proper adjustment of the several parts in setting the machine in position for use.

60 is a bracket secured upon the upper surface of the machine frame. as by means of bolts 61, such bracket being located just to the left of the work supporting table.

The bracket 60 comprises a frame or housing having on its interior surface the upwardly and forwardly extending guide ways 62 and 63. As shown herein, such guide ways are inclined at an angle of substantially 45 degrees to the horizontal, and are substantially parallel. In the preferred form of this device, one side and bottom wall of the guide ways may be integral with the frame while the opposite side walls thereof are formed by removable plates 64 and 65 respectively, such plates being secured to the frame or housing by screws or bolts.

The housing is provided. with a boss 66 having a journal opening therethrough in which the shaft 47 may turn, such shaft ex tending to the right of the housing; as clearly indicated in Figure 1. At point oppo-- site the rear edge of the work table, and extending a substantial distance to the right thereof, the shaft 47 is slabbed off to provide substantially flat surfaces 67 and 68 respectively. As the axis of the shaft 47 is arranged substantially coincident with the rear edge 45 of the work table it is evi dent that when the shaft 47 is properly positioned, the flat surface 6? hereof will form a substantial continuation of the flat upper surface 43 of the work table lying in the plane thereof. lVhen in this position, the other flat surface 68 of the shaft engages the bevel surface at the rear of'the work table, the latter suriace thus serting as a stop to limit the turning of the shaft 47 in a clock-wise direction as seen in Fig ures 2 and 4.

Mounted for sliding movement in the guide ways 62 and 63 is a plate member 69 said plate having an elongated opening 70 through which passes the shaft 47. The frame or housing carried by the bracket 60; is provided with a transversely extending member *1 overlying the upper edge of the plate 69; 72, 73 a e a pair of adjustable stop screws or bolts which engage threaded openings in the transverse member 71 ainl by means of which the upward movement of the plate al its guide ways be limited; "(4 is rod secured to the plate 69 and extending freely through an opening in the transverse member 71. such rod being screw tl'ircaded as at 75, adjacent its upper extremity. t lurrounding the rod 74 and resting upon the outer surface of the member 71 is a coil spring; ((3 enclosingwhich is a sleeve 77. 78 is a washer sur rounding the rod 74 and held in place by a nut 75- such washer bear-i against the outer end of the sleeve. Between the washer 7'8 and the upper end of the spring 76 is interposed a bushing; El although the sp 'n may be permitted to rest rheotly a the washer if desired. l i ith the rransgc ment iust described, it will be evident that the tendency of the spring; 76 is to lift the plate 69 upwardly alone; its guide ways. but that such movement is adjuiiital'ily limited by means of the stop screws 79. and 7 Projecting from the right hand face of the plate 69 is the work lmldiu and ferns ing member or anvil 5%]. This anvil consists of block integral with or fixedly scoured to the plate such block being provided with a lower surrace 82 which lies substantially parallel to the upper surface 43 of the work Ehich lo 82 together with the er table form a positionin ing means whereby erly supported dur' tion. As he n dmclosed the bloci; 91.. is also provided it? .1 the forming surface arranged substantially at t angles o the surface 8:2 and thus l" perpcndicw lar to the upper of the work. table. For bcndin at other than right angle. the to surface 83 of the block may be arranged to make suchv an angle with the surface 82 as it is doc :ed to have the parts of the work assume after bending. When a block having its surface 10: the bendin Y inoat right angles is employed and the guide ways are arranged as above described it is clear that when its lower position of adjustment, the lower right hand angle of the block will coincide with the rear 4&5 of the work table. it will also be clear that upon movement of the plate 60 upwardly along its guide ways, the surfaces 82 and. of the anvil-block will move simultaneously to equal distances from the surface 13 of the work table and from the vertical plane passing through the edge 1-5 respectively. Thus in accordance with the thickness of the work, the anvil-block may be properly positioned merely by adjusting the screws 72 and 78.

It will be clear that with the parts as shown in Figure 2, a bar or strip of'material may be placed upon the work table and pushed beneath the surface 82 until its rear portion overlies the surface 67 of the shaft d7. Upon turning of the crank-arm 22, the lever arm 19 will be actuated and thereby the shaft 4:? will be rocked through a partial rotation. Such rocking of the shaft will carry the surface 0"? into substantial parallelism with the surfrce 83 and thus that portion of the work lying to the rear of the edge 13 will be bent upwardly at substantially right angles to the main portion thereof. After the bending the work, it may be removed from the machine by sliding it to the right from off the work table, the slabbed off portions of the shaft 417 be ing sufiiciently long to permit of such action. If blocks having other angles than a right angle are employed, the position of the crank-pin 25 may be varied whereby to change the effective throw of the crank 22, thereby varying the angle turning of the shaft 47.

For controlling the operation of the machine the clutch mechanism herein above referred to, is interposed in the driving connections. This clutch as above noted comprises the drive element 18 secured to the drive shaft 17 as by means of the key 90,

and the driven clutch element 20 which is being secured slidable upon the shaf -ereto by nst rotation with V The driving viue'd with the shoulder the" shoul of the whereby to impart r therethrough to the 1.7. 7 in the member 20 is a circumferential groove 94- with in which groove engage rollers 95, 96, re spectively, carried by a pair of arms 07, 98, said arms being loos ly mounted upon a shaft 99 journaled in the machine frame. The arms 97 and 98 are each provided with a boss 100, 101, respectively. Such bosses are arranged for engagement by adjustable stop screws 102, 103, respectively carried by crank arms 104i, 105 fast to the shaft 99.

moved positively away froi The screws 102, 103 may be secured in adjusted position by means of lock nuts as sector 112 fast upon the shaft 99. A. wedge.

cam 113 is carried by the clutch element 20, having surface 114 engageable with the lateral edge of the dog 109. Pivoted at the.

point 115 on the front sire of the machine frame is a treadle lever 116 having afoot engaging part 117. 118 is a spring having one end secured to the treadle lever and having its 'oppositeend fastened to a bracket 119 fired to the frame. Secured to the left hand end of the treadle lever, as by means of a pivot pin 120 is a linlr121 having. its other end pivoted to the right hand extremity of a! crank arm 123 fast/to the forward end of the shaft 99.

In the operation of the parts just described; it being assumed that the crank 22 normally occupies the position shown in Figure 2 and that the clutch elements normally stand. in the position shown in Figure 8, the operator having inserted the work in position. to bebent, will step upon the treadle 11'? thereby swinging the shaft 99 and through the action of the sector 112 mov ing the dog downwardly and out of engage mentwith the cam surface 11%. As the treadle is further depressed the arms 10 1- 105 will be moved upwardly wherebyto cause engagement of the screws 102,103 with the hos s 100, 101. The arms 9798 will thus be moved to slide the member 20 longitudinally of the shaft, thereby pressing the surfaces 92 and 93 into operative engagement.

' Upon removing the foot from the trea-dle, the spring 118 immediately turns the shaft 99 in a clock-wise direction, thereby swinging the arms 104i, 105 downwardly and away from the arms 97, 98. At the same time, the sector 112 raises the rack bar 110 so that its upper end 109 lies in the path of the cam surface 1.1 1 as the member "2-0 revolves. Upon engagement of the surface 11 1 with the member- 10 9, the clutch element 20 is element 18, thus disconnecting the shafts 1? and 19"and bringing the 19 to rest after a singlereleases the material and permits its ready removal from the machine.

WVhile the mechanism above described is re garded as a preferred embodiment of the in vention herein disclosed it is clear that various changes and modifications may be made therein and that additions thereto may be made without in any manner departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Having thus described the invention in a preferred embodiment of the same together with the mode of operation thereof, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,

1. A machine for bending sheet material comprising a work table having a supporting surface terminating in a substantially straight edge, a work holding block guided for movement in a path oblique to said surface, spring means normally tending to lift said block and a plurality of adjustable stop screws for limiting such upward movement.

2. A. machine of the class described comprising a work table having a supporting surface terminating in a substantially 1 strai ht ed e a block havin a work en a 2': b 7 C: b b

ing surface, a fixed frame providing guide means engaging said block whereby to guide the same for movement in an oblique path toward and from said edge, means continually tending to move said block away from said edge, and means for adjustably limiting such movement.

3. A machine for bending sheet material comprising a work support terminating in a substantially straight edge, a guide block having work engaging surfaces meeting to form an angle, means for guiding said block for movement along a line intersecting said edge and bisecting said angle, and means continually tending to move said block away from said edge.

4:. A machine for bending sheet material comprising a work table having a substantially plane surface, guide means inclined at an acute angle to said surface, a block slidably guided by said guide means for movement toward and from said surface, spring means normally tending to lift said block away from said surface, and adjustable stop means for limiting the movement of said block away from said surface.

5. In combination, a work support having a substantially flat upper surface terminating in a straight edge, a fixed frame providing guides arranged to form an angle of substantially 45 with said surface, a block slidable in said guides toward and from said surface, said block having one surface substantially parallel to the upper surface of the table and an intersecting surface perpendicular thereto, a rod secured to said block and passing through said frame, a spring engaging a stop carried by said rod whereby normally to lift said block, a stop screw adjustably mounted in the frame for engaging said block to limit its upward movement, and a bending element mounted for swinging movement on a shaft having its axis substantially coincident with be straight edge of said support for disposing the work against the perpendicular surface of said block.

6. A machine for bending metal comprising a holder comprising an interchangeable work engaging biock, a movable bending element cooperable with said block for forming the metal between the same and said block, and means for moving said bending element, said means comprising adjustable connections whereby the amount of movement of said element may be varied.

7. In combination, in a machine of the class described, a rockable bending element and means for rocking said element comprising a power shaft, a slotted crank arm thereon, a crank pin adjustable along the slot of said arm, a yoke member provided with an opening for the passage of said crank pin and with members engageable with the lateral edges of said crank arm, and means for fixing said pin and yoke member in adjusted position.

8. In a machine for bending sheet material, a bending element, a power shaftand connections between said shaft and element for actuating the latter, said connections comprising a slotted crank arm fast to said shaft, a yoke member provided with a central opening and having ears engaging the edges of said crank arm, a shouldered crank pin passing through said opening and the slot in the crank arm, a plate having a central opening for the passage of said pin and engaging said arm upon opposite sides of its slot, and a nut engageable with screw threads on said pin for clamping the several parts in adjusted position.

9,. in a metal bending machine, a bending element carried by a shaft journaled for rocking movement, drive shaft, and adjustable connections between said shafts comprising a slotted crank arm fast on the drive shaft, one face of said arm being knurled at opposite sides of said slot, a crank pin slidable in said slot, a plate having an opening for said pin and engageable at its opposite ends with said knurled portions of the crank arm, and means for clamping said plate in adjusted position.

10. A bending machine comprising a rock able bending element, a lever arm for moving the same, a drive shaft, means for turning said shaft including a one revolution clutch, a crank arm fast to said drive shaft, said crank arm being of lesser length than said lever arm, and a connecting rod for transmitting movement from the former to the latter.

-11. A machine for bending sheet material comprising a Work support having a suha foot treadle for controlling said clutch, stantially straight edge, a rock shaft jourand connections between said drive shaft. 10 naled to turn about an axis substantially and said rock shaft whereby a Complete r0 coincident With said edge, said shaft having tation of the drive shaft serves to turn said a slabhed ofl portion normally "forming a rock shaft through a predetermined angle. continuation of said Work support, a drive Signed by me at BOstOn MaSSaeIiusetts, shaft, a power shaft, a one revolution clutch this 24th day of December 1920. I

interposed between said last named shafts, JULIUS B. MELTZ.

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